Last week, all of the musical stars we know and love gathered at the Staples Center in Los Angeles to attend the GRAMMYs. The award show itself was very entertaining. Beyoncé gave us all a taste of what her concerts are like with her golden-robed performance. Katy Perry rocked a beautiful pantsuit during her set. A Tribe Called Quest gave an awesome, politically aware show during their number.
However, the GRAMMYs seemed to be missing something. And it wasn't for lack of attendance or category. There were five bands nominated for Best Rock Album, including big name groups like Weezer and Blink-182, who have both obviously been around for a long time. These groups were in attendance.
I tuned into the GRAMMYs just to watch this award be given, as rock is my favorite genre of music. I liked the groups that were nominated. As the show went on, I grew more and more curious as to when this award would be presented.
I sat there thinking, "Hm, that's odd. It's been over an hour and they still haven't given it out." They had done Best Urban Contemporary Album and Best Rap Album. There had been a bunch of country music performances. But where was rock?
I watched the whole show, only to never see this award be given out. I had to Google the results because it was never aired. My favorite band nominated, Panic! At The Disco, didn't win. I was disappointed. However, I was way more disappointed that the GRAMMYs has never even bothered to air the award being given.
It didn't have the same priority given as the other awards or performances, which were great but a bit too numerous in my opinion. Come on, people. There were two country performances.
Why did the GRAMMYs snub the rock category? It's not exactly an obscure genre of music that no one listens to. It's huge, with billions of listeners worldwide. It just felt off to watch this award show honoring music to have it skip over one of the biggest genres.
I remember this same thing happened at the 2016 MTV VMAs. I searched for rock throughout the whole show and found nothing. I remember Alex from All Time Low tweeting "...?" during it, verbalizing what we were all thinking. Where in the world was rock?
Rock music is important. It should be valued and given airtime at these performances. I'm sure I'm not the only one who felt like they were cheated out of something. Yes, pop music should be valued. Country music should be valued (even though I hate it). But they're not the only types of music that should be valued.
These award shows should dedicate more time to celebrate rock music and how far reaching it is. It's had a huge impact on the world and continues to do so. I honestly felt bad for the bands that were nominated who went to the GRAMMYs. They weren't given equal treatment.
I really hope that the coming years will be more appreciative of rock music. The GRAMMYs and other award shows should spend more time on them and actually air their awards being given out.
